Coconut Curry Soup

Directions

Marinate time: 30 minutes to overnight
Prep and cook time: 45 minutes
Serves: 6-8

Ahead of cooking:

To marinate chicken, coat chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and then season with 1 tablespoon each of curry powder, chili powder and cumin and 1 teaspoon salt. Toss until fully coated and set in the refrigerator for at least half an hour or overnight.

If using tofu on its own or in addition to chicken, remove from packaging an hour before you start cooking and wrap in a paper towel or dish towel. Place tofu on a plate under something heavy like a cast iron pan. This process removes some of the excess liquid. After half an hour, cube the tofu and toss in some of the Vadiya spices and set aside until required.

• Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove pre-seasoned chicken from the fridge and set on the baking sheet.
• While oven is preheating, place a large soup pot on the stove and lay out a cutting board and knife. Skin and mince shallots and fresh garlic. Skin and grate fresh ginger into a small bowl. Or, if you are using jarred garlic or ginger, set aside for future use.
• Once oven is preheated, place chicken on the middle rack and cook for about 25 minutes or until cooked through so it remains very juicy. It will be added to hot boiling broth and will cook further.
• Turn soup pot to medium-high, add 2 tablespoons sesame oil and heat for 2–3 minutes. Once the oil is fragrant, add minced shallots and simmer for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.
• Add minced ginger and garlic and simmer for another minute, then add remaining spices: curry powder, chili powder, cumin and chili paste.
• Stir mixture until a drier paste is formed. You may need to add another half tablespoon of sesame oil.
• Once spice and oil paste is formed, add 8–10 cups of water. I used 10 cups for two packages of instant noodles. For fewer servings and a stronger broth flavour, use 8 cups of water and one package of noodles.
• Add salt, cover pot, and bring to a boil. While soup heats, dice the baby bok choy, slicing off the end.
• Once pot is boiling, add the seasoning packet(s) from the instant noodles.
• Remove chicken from the oven, let rest a few minutes, and then dice into small chunks.
• Add tofu (optional), baby bok choy, and chicken to the soup pot. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Reduce heat and stir in coconut milk. Cover, turn to low and let bubble until you are ready to eat.
• Top soup with diced green onions and bean sprouts.

Instead of chicken breasts, you can purchase a Co-op Fresh Rotisserie Chicken and use pieces for this recipe. It works great with leftovers in combination with tofu!

About the chef

By day, Kate Rawlyk develops food products for Co-op, and by night she takes those products and makes them into delicious recipes.

In her Coconut Curry Soup, Kate features spices from Co-op’s newest brand, Vadiya, a line of authentic South Asian products and flavours. The curry and red chili powders are ground, processed and packaged in Calgary through a cold grind process that retains more of the spices’ essential oils for vibrant flavour, aroma and colour.